Markeith Thompson awarded $1,000 scholarship by Hugh Green Scholarship Foundation

By Roscoe Barnes III
The Natchez Democrat
Published 2:18 pm Thursday, July 10, 2025
 

The Hugh Green Scholarship Foundation recently honored Markeith Thompson as the 2025 recipient of its $1,000 scholarship. From left are Wilbur Johnson, Hugh Green, Thompson, Laura Jackson, and Eva Dunkley. Thompson is a 2025 graduate of Natchez High School.

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Markeith Thompson, 2025 graduate of Natchez High School, is the 2025 recipient of a $1,000 scholarship awarded by the Hugh Green Scholarship Foundation. 

Hugh Green, a retired College Football Hall of Famer and NFL football standout and the namesake of the award, recently met with Thompson on the Bluff and presented him with the scholarship. 

Green is a native of Natchez and graduate of North Natchez High School. He and Thompson were joined by Thompson’s family and friends, and members of the Hugh Green Scholarship Foundation.

The foundation committee members included Eva Dunkley, president; Wilbur Johnson, secretary; and Laura Jackson, treasurer. 

Jackson said the award is an athletic scholarship presented each year to deserving students from all local high schools who plan to attend college or university. 

“Thompson was a track star who has been running track since middle school,” Jackson said. He plans to attend the University of Southern Mississippi. “This award is a stipend to help him with his finances,” she said.

In June, The Natchez Democrat reported Thompson was named the 2024-25 Gatorade State Player of the Year, which capped “off a record-breaking season and securing his place as one of the top athletes in the state of Mississippi.”

Thompson said he was happy to receive the Hugh Green scholarship. “I’m very thankful,” he said. “This will help me a lot in getting the essential needs for college.” 

Thompson said he will major in business marketing. The 17-year-old is the son of Alexis Davis and the grandson of Marva Gaylor. He said he is grateful to them for their support over the years, as well as the support of his aunts, Amber Davis and Victoria Gaylor.

Thompson also offered special thanks to his Amateur Athletic Union coach, Eddie Ray Jackson, and his high school coaches, Kelly Thomas and Veronica Green. 

The Hugh Green Scholarship Foundation was created over 30 years ago by a group of local men who wanted to help students with their education, according to Jackson. She said it was organized by the late George A. Dunkley. 

Last year’s recipient of the award was Ceairra Franklin, who also attends the University of Southern Mississippi, where she is studying to become a licensed laboratory technician. 

Green was a 1976 graduate of North Natchez High School. He was a linebacker for the University of Pittsburg Panthers from 1977 through 1980. He finished second in the 1980 Heisman Trophy voting to winner George Rogers of the University of South Carolina. 

Green was the seventh pick in the NFL draft in 1981, taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 1985, he was traded to the Miami Dolphins for their first- and second-round draft picks in the 1986 draft. He played 11 seasons in the NFL. 

Green was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana, in 1996.

Read more at: https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2025/07/10/markeith-thompson-awarded-1000-scholarship-by-hugh-green-scholarship-foundation/